Yes jojoco, it is odd that our kids have school, especially considering they had Friday off...not sure why they didn't just have Monday instead (for a teacher work day). Brunch is over and went fine. I did make a green salad but didn't have time for 'something that swims'. I'm in the Midwest so nothing really swims around here except in a can. No time to run and get salmon but I'll remember that next time (I have to host again in 3 years so maybe I wont' remember!!) Lots of compliments on Woodie's Creme Brulee French Toast. I really liked the Potato Quiche - nice combo of green onion and swiss cheese. The fruit was yummy also - chocolate covered strawberries & bananas in particular. I have lots of leftover muffins and coffee cake, which will get eaten by DS's and DH (and me too!) Thanks for all of you help & suggestions.

OMG, for a year or two I made breakfast for my office buddies (around 20-25). I have a whole slew of great recipes. I tried all different sorts of dishes, many of them savory. Here are a few... Sue Breakfast in a Loaf 1 round loaf bread (8- to 9-inch diameter) 4 ounces sliced ham 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced crosswise 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces) 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces) 1/2 cup sliced pitted ripe olives 1 medium tomato, thinly sliced 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced and cooked Prepare Scrambled Eggs. Remove from heat; cover to keep warm. Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut 2-inch slice from top of loaf; set aside for lid. Remove soft interior of loaf, leaving a 1-inch-thick wall and bottom. Place ham on bottom of loaf. Top with bell pepper rings; sprinkle with half of cheeses. Layer Scrambled Eggs, olives and tomato over cheeses. Top with remaining cheeses and mushrooms. Place lid on loaf. Wrap in foil. Place on baking sheet. Bake about 30 minutes or until heated through. Cut into 8 wedges. =========================================== Don;t forget crustless quiches. Just triple or quadruple your favorite quiche recipe and pour into greased large baking dish. Bake at 325-350 for an hour or so. For a crust, you can pre-bake some hash brown potatoes in the pan for a half hour before adding egg/cheese mixture. ===================================== Sue's Breakfast Lasagna Filling 1 package no boil lasagna, Ronzoni 3 Packages Jimmy Dean breakfast bulk sausage 2 medium onions, chopped 7 garlic cloves, chopped fine 6 Tablespoons Olive oil 2 10 oz packages white mushrooms, sliced 2 Portobello caps, sliced, chopped 3 Tablespoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, chopped 1 large can Whole, peeled tomatoes, crushed Salt 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan cheese Bechamel 6 ounces butter 6 ounces flour 9 cups milk 4 bay leaves 1 teaspoon grated nutmeg Brown sausage with onions and 7 cloves fine-chopped garlic. Heat oil and saute mushrooms over high heat until all juices are rendered and evapoated, and mushrroms are nicely browned. In a small saucepan, heat olive oil and saute 4 garlic cloves for a minute over medium heat. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes; Add some salt to taste. Bechamel In large saucepan, melt butter. When melted, add flour and stir to blend. (its a roux at this point) Cook for 2-3 minutes, frequently moving the paste around the pot to cook. Remove roux from pot. Add milk and heat until boiling. Add roux and whisk constantly until very thick (mixture will not reach full thickness until it reaches boiling point). Set aside, but keep warm. Assemble lasagna Lightly coat bottom of 9 x 15 baking dish with cooking oil. Coat bottom of dish with a cup or so of bechamel. Lay 4 pasta pieces over the bechamel, breaking the last one to fit. Cover pasta with a 2 cups bechamel. Layer half of the sausage and mushrooms. Cover with more bechamel. Layer down more pasta. Cover with bechamel. Layer last of the sausage and mushrooms. Cover with 3/4 of the tomato sauce. Cover with last layer of pasta. Cover with remaining bechamel. Dot top layer with tablespoons of remaining tomato sauce. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Cook @350° for 1 hour. let sit 15 minutes before cutting. Or, cool, refrigerate, and reheat at 275° for 45 minutes, lightly covered with foil. ===================================== Sue's Breakfast Burritos 8 Egg whites 2 Eggs Non-stick cooking spray 6 Wholewheat flour tortillas 1 Can Fat free refried beans 6 Slices Fat-Free American cheese slice, Kraft is best Reduced fat sour cream Fat free salsa Beat eggs whites and eggs. Coat non-stick skillet with cooking spray. Scramble eggs until set. Let cool. Spread 2-3 Tablespoons of refried beans on the bottom third of each tortilla. Place srambled eggs over refried beans. Tear one slice of American cheese in half, and place over eggs. Fold in the sides of the tortilla, then roll from the bottom. Place seam side down in baking dish. Finish assembling remaining wraps. Bake at 300° for 30 minutes. Serve with sour cream and salsa. ==================================== I don't recall where I got this recipe. Ham and Cheese Strudel 1 T Margarine 2 T All-Purpose Flour 1 Cup Skim milk 1/4 teaspoon Fresg ground nutmeg 1/4 Cup Lean Ham, Finely Chopped 4 T Lowfat Swiss Cheese 4 T Parmesan Cheese 1 1/4 Cups Egg Substitute 6 Phyllo Sheets Nonstick Cooking Spray Parmesan Cheese Fresh Cilantro, Chopped For strudel, place one sheet of phyllo dough on a work surface. Coat dough with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with 2 tsp bread crumbs. Spread egg mixture over bottom third of dough to within 3/4 inch of bottom and sides. Fold in sides. Roll dough up, starting at the end with the egg mixture. Place seam side down on an ungreased baking sheet, coated with nonstick cooking spray. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese and fresh cilantro.

This reminded me of a recipe I have had for many years, and somehow had forgotten about. I searched and found it in my documents/recipes folder. I'll definitely be using it again at Easter, and hopefully more often now that I've been reminded of it. Petit Pois Salad I pound frozen tiny peas, raw 1/3 cup chopped celery or water chestnuts 4 hard cooked eggs, chopped 3 dill pickles, chopped 1 small onion, chopped 1/8 tsp pepper 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1 tsp prepared mustard ½ tsp hot sauce Parmesan cheese, optional Combine first 6 ingredients. Combine rest of ingredients and blend the two mixtures. Garnish with parsley. Cheese may be mixed with the peas. If so, use 3 Tbls. or sprinkle on each serving. Attractive served in a tomato shell.

Brunch happened today. I made anglophilia's cheese strata following every direction to the letter except the paper bag, and it was a huge hit. I suffered some angst because I did not test the recipe beforehand and I have never seen a strata before so I wasn't sure exactly how it should turn out. As you can tell, planning is not my forte. I also provided a huge fruit tray, a cheese tray, and some other supporting dishes. A weakness in my menu was not enough vegetables and light fare, which I will rectify for next time. It was a grand success and everyone stayed the planned three hours. I really enjoyed having an afternoon event so that my baby nephew and godchildren could attend. The puppy was predictably a little bit bad with food, OK pretty bad with food, but great with the guests and kids. She and my husband have been sleeping it off for a few hours now.